On that day, news of the destruction of the Prime One Church's Crescent Province Branch Altar spread through Crescent Province as if it had sprouted wings, radiating rapidly to neighboring regions.
Two years ago, after Ian Song destroyed more than half of the Prime One Church's branch altars, his deeds spread throughout the Tang Dynasty, and even the Song and Ming Dynasties had many who knew his name.
So, when he reappeared two years later, it instantly caused a sensation.
Teahouses, taverns, private estates, sects—countless places were abuzz with talk about him.
“The world is about to change!” some old cultivators sighed.
“Little Demon Song has returned in force after two years. He’s bound to have a life-and-death showdown with the Prime One Church!” some predicted.
“Hmph, Little Demon Song is courting death. Two years ago, he just caught the Prime One Church off guard. This time, the church will definitely send out a slew of top experts to hunt him down!”
“If Little Demon Song is taking on the Prime One Church again, he must have something up his sleeve!”
Some were rooting for Ian Song, others were not, and plenty of cultivators got into heated arguments over it.
Meanwhile, the Prime One Church Main Altar received word of the destruction in Crescent Province on the very same day. Because they had suffered from slow information flow two years ago, they had built a secret teleportation array in every provincial capital, each directly linked to the Main Altar.
At each teleportation array, a spy from the Main Altar is stationed, so less than half an hour after the Crescent Province Branch Altar incident, the spy stepped into the array.
At the Prime One Church Main Altar, the high-level authorities gathered.
Master Mingtan, as sect master, sat at the head seat, his gaze slowly sweeping across the assembled leaders: "What plans do you have regarding this matter?"
"This time, we absolutely cannot let Little Demon Song escape!" one Core Elder declared angrily.
Another Core Elder said, "That's right. It took us great effort to smooth over the impact Little Demon Song caused two years ago. Even now, several provinces are on the verge of slipping from our control. If he stirs up trouble again, the damage to our church could be incalculable. So, I suggest we dispatch Tribulation-realm experts to sit in town at each province. If that little demon dares show up, we’ll strike him down with overwhelming force!"
"I agree with Elder Huo's proposal!" another Core Elder echoed.
"I agree as well. We can’t let Little Demon Song cause any more chaos!" another Core Elder quickly followed.
Soon, the majority of Core Elders supported sending Tribulation-realm experts to suppress Ian Song.
But just then, one Core Elder raised an objection: "If we send out more than a hundred Tribulation-realm experts, the Main Altar will become dangerously empty. If an enemy attacks, I’m afraid..."
"Elder Yelu, you’re overthinking it. As long as we act in secret, who could possibly get the news!" Elder Huo waved dismissively.
Elder Yelu said gravely, "Better safe than sorry. In any case, I do not support sending out so many Tribulation-realm experts and leaving the Main Altar exposed!"
"Enough, it's settled. Each branch altar will receive one Tribulation-realm expert to sit in command!" Master Mingtan suddenly declared, making the final decision.
Just then, a young attendant rushed in to report, "Sect Master, the spy from Dragoncrest Province has sent word—Little Demon Song has destroyed the branch altar there too!"
At once, everyone's faces turned extremely grim.
"There's no time to lose—Sect Master, please send out the Tribulation-realm experts at once!" Elder Huo urged.
A quarter of an hour later, all 106 Tribulation-realm experts who had been in seclusion at the Main Altar emerged, instantly teleporting to 106 provincial branch altars.
Fire God Church.
In a small courtyard, Diana Toba sat on a stone bench, resting her chin in her hands, lost in thought.
Suddenly, the courtyard door slammed open and Fletcher Toba burst in, full of energy.
Diana Toba glanced over, then looked away, her voice listless: "Big brother, why are you here?"
Seeing Diana Toba’s face growing thinner day by day, Fletcher Toba couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger. It was all that bastard’s fault—disappearing without a word for two years.
Just thinking about it made him grit his teeth in secret, wishing he could beat Ian up right now.
“Sis, that bastard showed up again!” Fletcher burst out.
“What?”
Diana Toba, who’d barely had any energy a moment ago, suddenly came alive and jumped to her feet. “Big brother… You mean Ian Song is back? Quick—tell me where he is!”
Seeing how his little sister instantly perked up just hearing news about that bastard, Fletcher felt a pang of jealousy. But when he saw the longing in her eyes, he still said, “I just got word—this morning that bastard destroyed the Prime One Church’s Crescent Province Branch Altar, and this afternoon he wrecked the Dragoncrest Province Branch Altar!”
“That’s great! He’s finally back—I’m going to find him!” Diana’s eyes lit up and she was about to rush out, but Fletcher quickly grabbed her.
“Big brother, let me go! I have to find him!” Diana struggled.
Fletcher hurriedly said, “Calm down! That bastard’s movements are impossible to track—he was in Crescent Province this morning and Dragoncrest Province this afternoon. Where would you even look?”
Diana paused, realizing he had a point. Her expression turned bitter and she looked at Fletcher pleadingly. “Big brother, you must have a way. Please, help me?”
“Sigh…”
Fletcher let out a deep sigh. He really didn’t know what kind of poison that bastard had fed his little sister—her whole heart was tied to him. His resentment toward Ian Song only grew deeper.
"Big brother, I’m begging you, you’re my only family—please, you have to help me!" Diana’s eyes filled with tears as she pleaded.
“Alright, alright, stop crying. I’ll help you!” The moment his little sister started crying, Fletcher couldn’t say no. But even as he agreed, he cursed Ian Song a few hundred times in his heart.
After a moment’s thought, Fletcher analyzed, “Knowing that bastard, he definitely won’t stop after just two branch altars. He’ll go for a third, for sure.”
As he spoke, Fletcher waved his hand and a map formed out of water vapor in the air. He pointed at it: “Look, here and here are Crescent Province and Dragoncrest Province—these two are right next to each other. Nearby are Astromark Province, Skycavern Province, Myriad Wonders Province, and Nevara Province.”
“Astromark and Skycavern are the closest, but at our speed, by the time we get there, he’ll probably have already smashed those altars. So, we should go to Myriad Wonders and Nevara Province and wait by the tree for the hare—maybe we’ll run into that bastard!”
Diana nodded vigorously at Fletcher’s analysis. “Let’s go right now, big brother! If we’re late, we might miss him!” she urged impatiently.
“Alright, let’s go!” Fletcher grabbed Diana’s arm and flashed away with her. In the two years since Ian vanished, he’d already broken through to the early Combined-Body realm.